March 19, 2019
Folding drone flies into tight spaces
Drones can go many places humans can’t, and a new foldable drone is squeezing into even tighter, more dangerous places than ever before. Inspired …
The EARTH archive
Geology
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1236 articles · Page 1 of 52
March 19, 2019
Geoethics in the Field: Leading by Example
In May 2015, five people associated with a college field trip, including students, stole 60 pounds of dinosaur bones from Bureau of Land …
February 13, 2019
Grounding Asian jumping worms
To tell the difference between a regular earthworm and an Asian jumping worm, pick it up. An earthworm will likely just lay there, perhaps …
February 13, 2019
Abiotic amino acid found in subseafloor rocks
In 2000, scientists discovered a new type of deep-sea hydrothermal vent site in the North Atlantic about 20 kilometers west of the Mid-Atlantic …
February 13, 2019
Kerogen's nanostructure determines oil and gas reservoir capacity
The petroleum and natural gas that power engines and heat homes are extracted from the complex networks of nooks and crannies that permeate …
February 13, 2019
Stronger monsoon drove ancient Indus civilization into the hills
Roughly 4,000 years ago, the Indus River Valley was home to the advanced and thriving Harappa culture. But by 1800 B.C., the civilization’s …
February 13, 2019
Benchmarks: March 31, 1933: The Civilian Conservation Corps is established
On Jan. 25, 1938, a heavy winter snowstorm struck Wisconsin, blocking the road connecting Blackwell to the nearest hospital 10 kilometers away in …
February 13, 2019
Geomedia: Books: "How the Rock Connects Us" shares copper country geoheritage
There is extensive literature on Michigan’s “Copper Country,” but most existing publications on the subject are either technical reports or …
February 13, 2019
Geomedia: Books: A witty look at "The Ends of the World"
Our planet has been through some harrowing episodes, particularly in the form of mass extinctions since the advent of multicellular life. How …
February 13, 2019
Geologic Column: Newspeak for kids
“Once upon a time, words began to vanish from the language of children. They disappeared so quietly that at first almost no one noticed — fading …
February 13, 2019
Travels in Geology: Finding Florida's hidden freshwater gems
As a child, my family and I often traveled to Florida to escape the chilly Virginia winters and enjoy the Sunshine State’s warm sunny beaches. …
February 13, 2019
Getting there and getting around Florida
For travelers flying in from out of state, Florida has several major airports, including in Miami (MIA), Orlando (MCO) and Tampa (TPA), as well …
February 13, 2019
How to become a cave diver
While snorkeling the spring pools is cool (no pun intended), a more in-depth way to experience Florida’s freshwater springs is to scuba dive in …
February 13, 2019
Piecing together the big picture of coral reef health
Today, news of damaged or devastated coral reefs has become commonplace. Reefs face many threats, including bleaching, disease, overfishing, …
February 13, 2019
Art joins science in coral communication
Scientists are not alone in their quest to observe and understand how coral reefs change through time. Artists and researchers have been creating …
February 7, 2019
Hot but not bothered: Warm soils favor microbes with small genomes
Centralia, Pa., sits above rich subterranean coal seams, which made the town a mining center for about a century. In 1962, the seams were …
January 30, 2019
Thirsty mantle: Subduction zones swallow more water than thought
For all the water stored in oceans, ice and other reservoirs at Earth’s surface, there’s likely even more in the planet’s interior, where it …
January 29, 2019
Mineral Resource of the Month: Boron
By Amanda Brioche, USGS mineral commodity specialist PRODUCTION GEOLOGIC OCCURRENCE Boron does not occur in nature in an elemental state. It is …
January 17, 2019
Beryllium: the rain bringeth and the rain taketh away
High in Earth’s atmosphere, cosmic rays collide with oxygen atoms, shattering the oxygen into smaller atoms, including radioactive beryllium-10. …
January 17, 2019
Seismometers eavesdrop on glacial outburst flood
On July 5, 2016, a previously dammed glacial moraine in Nepal burst, releasing 100,000 tons of water that barreled down the Sunkoshi River, …
January 17, 2019
Easter Island inhabitants drank brackish water to survive
The remote Chilean island of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, is famous for its 961 giant stone statues and monuments, erected between 1200 …
January 17, 2019
Lab-grown magnesite a boon for carbon sequestration?
Left undisturbed, carbonate minerals can naturally lock up carbon in a stable form for millions of years or longer. Triggering the formation of …
January 17, 2019
Humans accidentally created new rivers in Europe
Meandering rivers that flow through and transport sediment to deltas often split off from their main courses and flow in different directions. …
January 16, 2019
Archaeologists hit pay dirt in medieval latrines
Archaeologists digging in Lübeck, Germany, unearthed an unusual source of information about past dietary habits in the city: parasite eggs …